Word Studies - "inherit the earth"

Jesus's blessing pronounced upon the meek is that "they shall inherit the earth." (Matthew 5:5). On the face of it this might appear to be a rather weak blessing, but there is more here than we may first realize. Peddlers of the Watchtower Society's false doctrines point to this promise as an indication of a material inheritance on an everlasting earth, but a study of the expression "inherit the earth" refutes that argument.

The words and phrases of a language have a cultural heritage, and often it is necessary to consider that heritage in order to understand an expression. A key to understanding Christ's third beatitude is the fact that it is stated in the thirty-seventh Psalm: "But the meek shall inherit the earth..." (Psalm 37:11). In fact, a cursory reading of this psalm reveals numerous references to inheriting the earth or land. ("Earth" and "land" are translated from the same Hebrew word in the Old Testament and from the same Greek word in the New Testament, thus the two expressions are equivalent.) What did the psalmist mean by it?

Psalm 37 contrasts the nature and security of the wicked with those of the righteous. Some men devise wicked schemes, and seem to prosper in them (verse 7). They plot against the just, cast down the poor, and slay the upright (12, 13). They borrow and do not repay (21). On the other hand, the righteous trust in the Lord and do good (3), mercifully give when none is owed (21), and have God's law in their hearts (31). Regarding security, the wicked have none; they shall be cut down (2), cut off (9), and shall vanish away (20).

The repeated promise to the just in the psalm is that they shall "inherit the earth" or "inherit the land." (9, 11, 22, 29). In Hebrew culture, inheriting the land was a particularly precious blessing. Speaking of Canaan, God promised Abraham that He would give him "this land to inherit it." (Genesis 15:7). He led Abraham's descendants from bondage in Egypt to that land of promise and gave it to them as an inheritance. (Exodus 32:13). Faithful service to Him would bring blessings of all kinds, including dwelling in the land; but among the many curses for departing from God would be removal to foreign lands. (Deuteronomy 28:11, 36, 68).

Inheriting the land thus came to symbolize the sum of all of God's blessings. Such usage appears in Psalm 25:13; Proverbs 2:21, 22; Isaiah 57:13; and Isaiah 60:21. This latter passage foretold the blessedness of life in messianic times: "Also your people shall all be righteous; they shall inherit the land forever, the branch of My planting, the work of My hands, that I may be glorified."